Signs You May Have SIBO

Gettyimages.com/African American woman covering her mouth while feeling nausea during breakfast at home.

If you’ve been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome recently, you may have gone home feeling partially relieved that it wasn’t something more serious, and than instantly frustrated. When you look IBS up, the Internet seems to simply repeat back to you all the things you told your doctor. You have occasional bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and discomfort after meals. Uh yeah…that’s what you told your doctor. So you were just diagnosed with, essentially, a fancy name for something that just collects all your symptoms into three words: irritable bowel syndrome. But you aren’t told why you have it. Some people point to dairy or gluten intolerance. Some think it’s meat consumption. But there’s one condition that isn’t known much about, that often manifests itself in IBS symptoms: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or SIBO. This is essentially defined as the presence of excessive bacteria in your gut that can cause symptoms. Here are signs you have SIBO.

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Your symptoms act up after Mexican food

That’s because Mexican food contains things like chili peppers, cilantro, green bell peppers, and onion—all things that those with SIBO cannot tolerate. These cause inflammation in the intestines of those with SIBO.

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And Indian food

If you have SIBO, you really cannot handle any spice, so Indian food is bound to cause symptoms. You also need to keep gluten to a minimum, so more than one piece of naan will be an issue.

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And Thai food

Are you starting to see a pattern here? SIBO and spicy food do not go hand in hand. Curry also contains coconut milk, which is high in sugar, and problematic for those with SIBO.

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You struggle after sandwiches

If you have SIBO, you cannot have processed meat. Should you crave a turkey sandwich, you need freshly carved turkey, right from the baked bird. The sodium and preservatives in processed meat will cause inflammation.

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You bloat after nights of drinking

Even if you only drank a couple of drinks, you could have symptoms. This will be especially true if you had sugary cocktails. Sugar and SIBO do not mix well, causing even more bacteria in your tummy.

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**You can bloat dramatically after little food**

You can bloat up after only a few bites of food. Certain foods (like onions, processed meat, or spicy food) are so problematic for those with SIBO that even a few bites will cause bloat.

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Suppositories don’t help

If you are constipated and bloated from SIBO, suppositories won’t help. There is too much gas in your intestines in order for them to compress and respond appropriately to the suppository.

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Symptoms can last for a few days

SIBO symptoms can go on for days at a time. They aren’t like allergy systems, that will come on very strong, but be over by the end of the day. If you have SIBO and something causes you to bloat or become constipated, this could go on for 24 to 48 hours. Or more…

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You experience cramping

You sometimes feel as if you’re trying to pass a knife when you have bowel movements. If you have a buildup of gas in your intestines (which is common in SIBO) then going to the bathroom can be painful. There is too much pressure in your intestines.

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Young woman with stomach issues in toilet hemorrhoid pain in the butt.

You’ve woken up to painful diarrhea

You’ve woken up and had to have painful diarrhea. You’ve nearly fainted on the toilet from the cramping. This has likely happened after a night of excessive spicy food or alcohol.

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You don’t feel well after kombucha

Kombucha can be beneficial for healthy guts, but it actually introduces too much bacteria to someone with SIBO. If you bloat up after having this probiotic drink, you probably have SIBO.

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Or pickled foods

Pickled foods also introduce good bacteria to your gut, but if you have SIBO, you don’t need any more bacteria going in there. If this is the case, pickled foods will cause bloat.

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You truly can’t close your pants sometimes

You bloat so intensely that you often look eight months pregnant. You’ve become so bloated that your stomach felt hard as a drum, and you could not close your pants.

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You have show-stopping gas

Your gas could clear a building. That’s what happens when you have SIBO and the bacteria in your gut doesn’t interact with food properly, causing some hellacious fumes.

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Cruciferous veggies are more harmful than helpful

You’ve tried to add cruciferous vegetables to your diet to regulate your bowel movements, but it seemed to have made matters worse. Cruciferous veggies create certain sugars in your intestines that don’t react well with SIBO.

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Signs you have SIBO